Why a Birth Plan Matters (step by step guide on how to write it). Tips from a Berlin Doula
- Anne Matei
- Oct 8
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 17
You can’t "plan" birth... A birth plan isn’t about predicting birth. It’s about preparing your voice, your values, your boundaries: so you can face the journey empowered, regardless of how it turns out!
Getting ready to welcome a baby in Berlin is exciting, but let's be honest, it can also feel a little overwhelming. There are important choices to make about where and how you'll give birth.
As a doula, I firmly believe that the process of writing a birth plan is an essential step toward a respected and positive birth experience. Taking the time to reflect on these choices is a powerful process.
What is a Birth Plan?
A birth plan is a written document that reflects a couple's wishes, choices, and intentions. The document itself does not have (legal/official) value.
What matters here is the process...Writing your birth plan is a great way to educate yourselves on the reality of childbirth, your rights as patients, and to clearly express your preferences for the birth and postpartum. It's a powerful tool for opening a constructive dialogue as a couple and with your healthcare team.
A comprehensive birth plan that reflects your individual needs and wishes, can cover a range of topics.
It may include:
Key informations: Contact infos (yourself, partner, ICE, doula, gynecologist, midwife ...), background infos on your medical history (e.g allergies), medical history regarding childbirth (VBAC, miscarriages etc.), any fears, traumas or specific traditions that you want the staff to be aware of. Even if the staff will have access to your medical file, I believe it's always worth having all these important details in one place.
Place of Birth: Where do you feel most comfortable and safe to welcome your baby? At what point during labour are you planning to go to your birth setting?
Birth Partner's Role: How can your partner best support you during labor? What is their role? Responsibilities? What are your expectations towards them?
Pain Management: What comfort measures or pain relief options would you like to explore?
Interventions: Which interventions do you want to avoid or accept, and under what circumstances? Which ones do you firmly decline?
Mobility & Positions: How do you imagine being mobile during labour and birth (e.g. ability to go out for a walk, props you could use such as pezzi balls, stool etc.) ? Are there positions you would like to privilege/ avoid during labour and pushing?
After Birth: Who catches the baby? What are your wishes for right after the birth (undisturbed skin-to-skin contact, letting baby "breast crawl", delayed cord clamping etc.)? What is the atmosphere in the room? Who looks at the baby's gender (if unknown)?
Hospital Stay (if applicable): When do you wish to leave the hospital? Would you like a Familienzimmer? Which tests/screenings do you consent to/decline?
Other little details (that can still be meaningful and powerful!): Photographs you want to take? Music? Scents? etc.
Who is a Birth Plan for?
A birth plan is for all birthing people, couples, regardless of the situation or type of birth planned (unmedicated, medically assisted, scheduled C-section, etc.). It's for anyone who wants to be a fully active participant in the birth of their child.
Why Write a Birth Plan for your Birth in Berlin?
Creating a birth plan offers numerous benefits for you, your partner, and your baby:
For expectant parents:
Understand your rights: The process helps you understand concepts like the right to informed and free consent. You have the right to be informed about any medical procedure and to refuse treatment at any time. (see safety card for a respected birth )
Strengthen your relationship: Thinking about your birth plan together allows you to work as a team and share this adventure fully.
Prepare and advocate for yourself: While a birth plan has no legal value, it serves as a tool for dialogue and advocacy, allowing you to discuss and adjust medical protocols for a respectful birth experience. If things don't go according to plan, it will be great for your partner/ team to be able to react and adjust to follow your plan as closely as possible.
For the baby:
An active participant: Writing a birth plan is a way of recognizing that your baby is a sensitive being, and that you want to make the best possible decision for your child (e.g. which interventions you want to perform during birth or just after birth, or don't want (e.g CTG monitoring, delayed cord clamping, skin to skin, vitamin K, screenings etc.)
When Should You Write It?
You can start thinking about it at any point in your pregnancy. Writing the birth plan usually takes shape around the 7th month (the beginning of the third trimester) when "the upcoming birth" becomes a more tangible reality for both parents. It's an opportunity to verbalize fears, revisit past experiences if needed, and to project yourselves together as a team.
How Should You Write It?
Always in writing: A birth plan should be a tangible, clear document. Keep a copy in your medical file and another in your birth bag. Share it with your doula, birth partner, and providers team.
Positive tone: Write it with clarity and respect. Express what you wish for primarily, but you also express what you refuse. A polite and respectful tone towards the healthcare team is important for collaboration and communication.
Make it yours: Each birth plan is one-of-a-kind. It should be a reflection of your specific journey and your discussions as a couple. Don't let an AI write it for you. Take the time to craft something that reflects your choices.
Step by step guide on writing your birth plan:
Here are examples of birth plans sample sentences
It is preferable to draft your birth plan after you attended some sort of a childbirth education course or had a preparation with your midwife or doula, so that you understand the physiology of labour and birth and the protocols around a hospital/Geburtshaus or home birth. It can also be a good idea to go to an information evening (Infoabend) at some of the places where you think you might give birth, or to discuss with your midwife.
Take a moment comfortably as a couple, you probably will need a couple of sessions. I usually plan 2x 60-90min with my clients.
You can start by looking at various examples of birth plans that exist online, to see the different styles that exist and write your own. Just type "birth plan samples" on Google, you will find plenty to look at. I have examples of sample sentences to inspire you in my guide.
Reflect on what really matters: What truly matters to you for this birth? What are you feeling up for (e.g. a birth that is as natural as possible, having an epidural, water birth....)? What kind of atmosphere do you want? What are your preferences regarding some protocols, (e.g, delayed cord clamping, upright birth positions
Define your boundaries: What interventions do you wish to avoid, and why? Understanding your "no" is just as important as knowing your "yes."
Understand your options: Understanding the possibilities for labor comfort measures, pain management, and the main interventions (inductions, epidural, breaking water bag, instruments, episiotomy, c-section...) is important. You can use the very powerful BRAIN acronym to support your decision making.
Make informed decisions: When there is a term/concept that you don't really understand or want to know more about, inform yourself from trusted reliable, objective sources. I love evidence-based birth, they have a ton of resources - just type "evidence based birth followed by the intervention/concept you want to know about on google (e.g evidence based birth epidural"). You can look at WHOs recommendations. I also enjoy midwifeinberlin.com
You can use the very powerful BRAIN acronym to support your decision making.
I really encourage you to think specifically about the following interventions: do some to research and form your own opinions on:
Cervical exams
AROM (breaking the water bag artificially)
Usage of synthetic oxytocin
Episiotomy
Pain management methods incl. epidurals, opioids, nitrous oxyde, medications such as buscopan etc.
Kristeller Handgriff (fundal pressure) - use for a head down baby is to avoid, but for a breech baby, it is different
Delivery of the placenta (using or not using synthetic oxytocin)
Delayed cord clamping (read here about why it matters)
Instrumental extraction (forceps, vacuum)
Inductions - if this becomes a topic for example you passed your due date
Have a back up plan: You may be eyes on the prize, for an all natural birth at home for example, and end up transferred to the hospital for an epidural, or get an emergency c-section. This can be still lived as a positive experience if you have acknowledged this can be a possibility, and prepared for plan B.
Preparation, Not Prediction: Embracing the Unpredictability of Birth
It's vital to remember that birth is an unpredictable event. You cannot plan for every twist and turn, but you can prepare for them.
Consider various scenarios, such as a Cesarean section or a request for an epidural. Even if this is not what you have in mind, you never know. You're not just creating a single plan, you’re building a framework of informed preferences.
For example, a detailed birth plan might include specific preferences for:
In case of an epidural (Im Falle eine PDA): How you wish to stay mobile, the desire to be informed about decisions, and preferences for a self-controlled dose pump.
In case a c-section is needed (Im Falle eines Kaiserschnitts): The request for your partner to be present, delayed cord clamping, and immediate skin contact with your baby.
How a Doula Can Help You Write it
As a doula in Berlin, my role is to empower you to navigate this process with confidence. While I won't write your birth plan for you, I will support you every step of the way by:
Getting you informed: I'll share factual information and useful resources to help you make truly informed decisions. There is so much to debunk in the birth space, many contradictory informations and a lot of data. I have done the homework for you, and will present you with clear and evidence-based infos.
Providing support: I'll help you clarify your wishes, address any fears, and take a stand on common medical protocols.
Connecting with reality: I'll help you understand the common practices of birth settings in Berlin so you can make a conscious choice about where and how to give birth.
Respect how you are unique: Together, we'll talk through your story, your questions, and your wishes to create a clear and personal birth plan that is truly yours.
If I am your birth doula, with you on the day, I offer continuous emotional and physical support. I'll help you stay centered and, when needed, I'll advocate for your wishes with your care team, helping to ensure we stick as closely as possible to the plan you created.
This way, you can focus on your birth, knowing you have an informed partner by your side.
If you're interested in creating your birth plan or exploring my services, including one-on-one consultations, please get in touch. Let's prepare for your birth journey together, so you can feel ready for whatever comes your way.
I wish you a safe and empowering birth!
I offer 1-1 consultations to write your birth plan together. I guide you with evidence-based information, listen to your story, fears and preferences.
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